I'm here at the Applelinks booth (1540), watching everyone fight over the iClocks. Before I dig into the box myself, I'll post some quick notes on the key note.

Here's the quick run-down, as I've got work to do here and there are details all over the place by now.

Jobs started off touting the stores, including the four latest openings, none of which are in my home town of Stow, Ohio. The video Steve showed was my first entry into the store, and I'm now all set to move to Glendale.

Steve then brought out ten companies to talk about their OS X strategies:

• Microsoft Office. We knew this was coming, but no release date was given.
• Adobe. They showed off Illustrator, GoLive and InDesign. No PhotoShop, no release date.
• Quark. The world premier of Quark 5.X, which will feature tables, layers, and the ability to build web pages. The product is currently in beta, and no release date was given.
• FileMaker. Another chance to show off FileMaker Pro v5.5 for OS X and the forthcoming FileMaker Server v5.5 (July 30th)
• Connectix. Virtual PC for OS X is not only on its way, but is currently a free download (for registered users of v4) in the form of Virtual PC Test Drive. Head over to www.connectix.com to get your copy
• IBM. A pretty impressive demo of ViaVoice, which will be available in September.
• World Book 2002. Available now for Mac OS X only.
• Blizzard. Gamers rejoice; Warcraft III for OS X will see a (hopefully) simultaneous release with the PC version this winter. The demo of the game looked incredible, and I'll try to get more details from Blizzard later this week.
• Aspyr. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 was shown off, and is now available. An Applelinks review will be posted next week.
• Alias|wavefront. This is what everyone has been waiting to hear. Maya is available today.

Much was also said about OS X, of course, the biggest news being the announcement of OS X.1 which will ship in September as a free upgrade to current OS X owners. The udpate will freature improved performance (faster launches), improved Aqua interface (movable dock), digital hub improvements (DVD player!), and new networking capabilities.

Steve also unveiled a slick new G4 tower, sporting the steel look of the iBook. The new system will come in 733MHz ($1,699) and 867MHz ($2,499) models, available today, along with a dual processor 800MHz model due for release next month.

The iMacs have also been updated to 500MHz, 600MHz, and 700MHz systems. But hey, I have a booth to tend to, so watch Applelinks for details from our other reporters.

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